Dothan, AL Property Maintenance: Property Blight (2026)

Article IX of Chapter 14 lets the city's building official, building inspector, fire marshal or another mayor-designated 'appropriate municipal official' inspect public buildings, halls, churches, theaters, hotels, tenements and commercial or loft buildings semiannually, plus any structure named in a complaint or reported by police or fire, to check for the defect categories Sec. 14-112.1 uses to define a 'dangerous building,' from leaning walls and overloaded floors to fire damage, inadequate exits, unsafe equipment and structures that have become an attractive nuisance to children. Sec.

14-112.2 sweeps in accessory items on the property too, including junked motor vehicles, junk, rubbish, trash and weeds. Once a building meets that definition, Sec. 14-113 declares it a public nuisance that 'may be repaired, vacated, moved, or demolished as provided by this article,' and Sec. 14-114 lets the official choose repair, move or demolition based on cost relative to the structure's value and fire-hazard risk. Sec. 14-115 requires written notice by certified mail to the owner, mortgagees and lienholders, posting at the entrance, and recording with the probate judge, giving the owner not less than 45 days to complete repairs or submit a work plan, or to move or demolish the structure.

If the owner does not comply, the city can do the work itself and assess the full cost against the property, and Sec. 14-115(e) gives the board of commissioners 120 days from the mailing to act before the finding lapses.